1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to lighting fixtures, and more particularly to a novel concept of a corner floor lamp, and the design principles related to achieving aesthetically pleasing corner floor lamps.
2. Description of the Related Art
Many configurations of floor lamps are currently available. However, a search of the prior art does not disclose any patents that read directly on the claims of the instant invention. Nor does any art prior to the applicant's above-cited patent suggest, or recognize as a design option, a floor lamp intended for exclusive placement in the corner of a room.
Williams, in U.S. Pat. No. 2,694,137, describes a lighting fixture having a substantially planar, square sheet metal base, with a configuration that conforms to the corner of a showcase. A light bulb or the like is attached to the base at its lower end. Williams' requirement of a planar base, consistent with the desirability of a low-profile, inconspicuous lighting fixture in a showcase, distinguishes itself from the instant invention, where a visibly attractive appearance of the base is desirable. That an aesthetically pleasing appearance is not an object of Williams' invention is exemplified by its unadorned planar base, where functional artifacts, such as screw holes and a flat spring, are left unobscured. Thus Williams' base is not adaptable to the aeshetic object of the instant corner floor lamp, nor does it provide an impetus for the instant invention.
Inasmuch as a householder may desire to place a conventional floor lamp in the corner of a room, the limitations of such usage are germane to the instant application. Some conventional floor lamps have substantially vertical posts or support structures that are attached to the center of a base. Such bases can be circular, ovally or rectangular. Alternatively, the floor lamp may be supported on legs that are symmetrically placed about the post or support structure. All such bases preclude the snug placement of floor lamps in the corner of a room. If, for example, the shades of the lamps are wider than the base, as is typically the case, the shade, being centered over the base, makes contact with the walls before the base does, thus preventing placement of the lamp deep in the corner of a room.
Some floor lamps with circular bases have posts or support structures that are directed away from the vertical in their upper lengths, thus allowing suspension of the luminaire further from the corner as compared to a fully vertical post or support structure. However, the bases of these lamps still cannot be placed deep in the corner of a room due to the mismatch of their contours with the ninety-degree angle of the corner.
Also available are floor lamps with rectangular bases, some of which have luminaires suspended off-center as described above. However, the off-center displacement of the luminaire is parallel to a pair of sides of the base, hence the luminaire is not suspended in the open space of the corner, but along one of the walls. Moreover, the width of the shade of the luminaire is typically greater than that of the base, which precludes placement of the base snugly in the corner of a room.
If a rectangular base is square, and the luminaire is directly above the center of the base, the sides of the base must be equal to or greater than the diameter of the luminaire to keep the luminaire a minimum of ½ inch from making contact with the walls. (The ½ inch space is provided by a baseboard that is typically ½ inch in width.) A diagonal of the base will be longer than the diameter of the luminaire by a factor of 1.4. Large luminaires will require correspondingly large bases with long diagonals extending into the space of which it is an object of the present invention to economize. Alternatively, the size of a luminaire can be reduced to accommodate a small square base. However, such manipulation of dimensions confines artistic expression and engineering options, and is not a prescription for the design of corner floor lamps.
Thus, a floor lamp intended for exclusive use in the corner of a room is not found in the prior art. This absence of an exclusive corner floor lamp speaks to the lack of motivation and/or desirability for such an invention in the prior art. Conventional floor lamps that may be placed in the corner of a room do not make efficient use of floor space that may be restricted by household furnishings such as chairs, sofas, tables, etc. Nor is it an object of conventional floor lamps to present an aesthetically pleasing appearance in the corner of a room.
Special considerations guide the design of a furnishing that is destined for exclusive placement in the corner of a room. Symmetry is an important aspect of design, and the distinct symmetry of the corner of a room must be taken into account. Beyond the peculiar symmetry of the corner of a room, is the fact that a furnishing designed for a corner of a room has a front and back, as compared to a furnishing that may be viewed all around. Conventional floor lamps are not designed to be in harmony with the spatial geometry of the corner of a room.
The walls that form a corner are symmetric with respect to a vertical plane that bisects the ninety-degree angle of the corner. Typically, the design of an aesthetically pleasing furnishing in the corner will be symmetric with respect to the bisecting plane. Where the design is asymmetric with respect to the bisecting plane, the asymmetry may be informally balanced to achieve an aesthetically pleasing result. These considerations of symmetry will generally not succeed in producing an aesthetic result when applied to a conventional floor lamp, where the angular view is 360 degrees.
3. Objects of the Invention
The principle object of the instant invention is the disclosure of principles for the design of aesthetically pleasing floor lamps in accordance with the above-stated symmetry considerations, that are intended for exclusive placement in the corner of a room.
Another object is to provide a floor lamp that economizes the space in the corner of a room.
Still another object is provision of a base for a corner floor lamp, where said base may be non-planar, and composed of, but not limited to, a metal that is susceptible to manufacturing processes such as stamping, casting, forging, spinning, or other processes to achieve aesthetically pleasing design objectives.
Another object is to provide a corner floor lamp supported by a multiplicity of legs.
Yet another object of the invention is the provision of a corner floor lamp with an up-lighting luminaire, supported at the upper end of a post or other support structure, to provide both direct illumination, and indirect, diffuse illumination reflected from the surfaces of a room.
A further object is the provision of a down-lighting corner floor lamp, wherein a down-lighting luminaire is suspended by a bridge attached to the upper part of a post or support structure, the bridge being in the bisecting plane and directed away from the corner. In the alternative, the luminaire may be suspended at the end of a post or support structure, the upper length of which may be curved, such as a gooseneck, or otherwise directed away from the corner.